Singer/songwriter Ben Strawn commits to turning his frown upside down in “One of These Days,” a tender ballad of spiritual renewal, self-reflection, and recalibration.
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“It never really pays to be sad,” Ben Strawn sings in his heartfelt new single, his voice a softly stirring vessel of intimate emotion and sage, hard-won wisdom. “Things really aren’t that bad.” Perspective is everything in life: If you tell yourself you’re down-and-out, you’ll feel down-and-out. If you tell yourself you’re struggling, you’ll continue to struggle. Likewise, if you take on a more hopeful perspective, your outlook will be that much more positive. Such a mental shift doesn’t happen overnight, but the first step to getting out of that cycle of sadness is to “change our thinking habits” – and if we can commit to that, the rest does come in time. Strawn commits to turning his frown upside down in “One of These Days,” a tender ballad of spiritual renewal, self-reflection, and recalibration.
Sometimes, it really is all a state of mind.
I read a book, you went to class
Things are gonna work out for you,
which makes me feel kinda sad
Not because I don’t love you,
but because I want what you have
Well I guess that I could have it
If I changed my thinking habits
‘Cause it seems
It doesn’t always pay to be sad
Things really aren’t that bad
Released February 23, 2023 via his own indie label Saint Rawn Songs, “One of These Days” is Ben Strawn’s first song in over a year, and the lead single off his forthcoming sophomore album Splendid!, out this spring. Hailing from Tennessee and now based in Atlanta, Georgia, Strawn has emerged over the past few years as a heart-on-sleeve singer/songwriter – one who naturally gravitates toward life’s most visceral and vulnerable spaces.
“He spills his soul, owning his emotions and his baggage,” Atwood Magazine wrote in a 2021 track premiere of his last song, “So Long.” “It’s refreshing to hear such complex, heavy feelings communicated so clearly through personal, select moments brought back to life through vivid imagery.”
“One of These Days” finds Strawn in a similarly introspective headspace, straining to overcome lingering feelings of sadness and inadequacy that he has, to date, struggled to shake off. A jazzy ensemble of gentle, warm pianos, woozy background synths, and soft, tempered drums accompanies his achingly evocative voice as he valiantly attempts to pick himself up and dust himself off:
I saw you in your play last night
You were really great
You’re honestly a natural
And I really wanna feel that cool
Since I’ve been doing my thing
For God knows how long
“I wrote this song shortly after my wife and I moved to Atlanta,” the singer/songwriter tells Atwood Magazine. “There had never been a time where we hadn’t lived the small-town life, so moving to one of the biggest cities in the South was a way for us to start betting on ourselves. She got off to a fast start acting-wise, and I felt like I wasn’t making any progress at all in my creative field. So, naturally, I started getting all moody about it. It’s easy for me to get down when I feel behind or unfulfilled in my work, which then turns into a nihilistic attitude. Over the past couple years I noticed myself spending too much time in that headspace and writing sad-for-the-look-of-it songs, which started feeling more self-serving and less genuine.”
“In ‘One Of These Days,’ I’m trying to convince myself to be less cynical and that my life is legitimately pretty great when I look at it through less of a selfish lens. With this song and my album as a whole, I’m trying to look at things objectively and see both sides, because I know that I’m a privileged American leading a pretty charmed life in comparison to the majority of the world, yet I still have tough moments, family issues, self-doubt, etc. that are worth really feeling.”
“I listened to a lot of Aldous Harding and The Shins during the writing of this song. Their sound reminds me of why I fell in love with music in the first place: it has an organic, eternal quality to it. This inspired me to go for a more sloppy, loose feel with my tunes this time around, which was a good exercise in allowing some imperfections to come through. Andrew Goldring captured this song and the rest on the album in such a genuine, tasteful way.”
But it never really pays to be sad
Things really aren’t that bad
Nihilism’s a fad
‘Cause things really aren’t that bad
Things aren’t bad
I’m not gonna be sad
I’ve realized that watching
you succeed is what I need
I’ll be patient
Make money to pay rent
I’ll get my moment one of these days
Radiating a warm, comforting glow, “One of These Days” is a reminder that we all spiral from time to time, and that’s okay.
Sadness is as natural as love, joy, and laughter, but little good will come to us from dwelling in our sorrow for too long. Sometimes we’ll need a helping hand from those around us, and sometimes that helping hand will come from within. “I’m not gonna be sad,” Strawn concludes, resolving to find his way back to a better place. “I’ll get my moment one of these days.”
Keep striving toward the light, and bask in the sweet, radiant rays of “One of These Days,” Ben Strawn’s latest inspirational enchantment.
Things aren’t bad
I’m not gonna be sad
I’ve realized that watching
you succeed is what I need
I’ll be patient
Make money to pay rent
I’ll get my moment one of these days
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